The Things I Missed

There were a few things I was unable to write about over the last few days so I am going to do a brief mention of them here.

Mike Reid

Mike Reid was an icon. One of the earliest memories I have of him is that kids show he had called 'Runaround'. Me and my nan would watch it.
One of the most recent memories of his is watching one of his stand-up routines while babysitting my friend's kids in New Year 1996. I used up some of his gags for weeks afterwards!

Poker

I haven't played that much recently because I have either been too ill or been hanging around with Josh and playing the Wii.
I played my first game back last night and came forty-eighth out of five hundred and twenty-seven runners. I made it in the money but generated $1 profit from my buy-in.

Children of Men

This film is brilliant. You must see it!

Reader Reax

Not great, but definitely not bad. If I had to name a worst match I would give it to the Cruiserweight Title match because of the lame and nonsensical finish. The opening match between Hardy and MVP gets my thumbs up as match of the night. One thing that I am surprised people haven't picked up on is the irony of last year's Great American Bash being the event the WWE used as a way to prove their Wellness Policy was working by stopping Lashley and Khali from appearing due to enzyme levels in their livers being high. This year -amidst a lot of media scrutiny over the policy - both appeared in high profile matches.


This is what I contributed to the current issue of the Pro Wrestling Torch in regards to the Great American Bash from over a week ago.

My review was one of three reader entries selected for publishing.

I'll be back tomorrow.

Fighting Unfit

I have been knocked into submission by a cold.

The blog will resume when I can think straight.

A Letter From Congress

The WWE received a letter from two congressmen yesterday in regard to the steroid and drug culture associated with the business.

Hopefully this will make the 'sport' a better place for those performers who risk their lives in the search for fame and glory.

Sure, it could see the business change as we know it but it will be worth it won't it?

I won't have to tell friends of mine that another star has passed away and hear the 'not another one' response that I have heard far too many times in the last ten years plus.

If wrestling cannot survive with the changes then it mustn't survive.

I am not saying this for shock value - I really am fed up having to see star upon star pass away due to the pressures they have placed upon their bodies.

There is more to life than professional wrestling. I realised this more than ever over the last month. It's a shame it took the death of two innocent people for myself and others to realise that there are major problems that need to be addressed.

One of the most poignant paragraphs I read in the coverage this month was from a writer in Florida who said that he was able to contact Jack Brisco, a wrestler from his youth. He was able to reminisce with him about the way wrestling used to be, The journalist ended his piece by saying when he hung up with Brisco all he could think of was the young fans of today who make the call to their heroes from wrestling in years from now and there not being anyone on the other end of the line.

The investigation may enable those fans to be able to contact the legends of tomorrow twenty years from now.

Fifteen Short

I missed the payout by fifteen places in a $5 MTT in the harshest of ways last night.

The tourney was in its second hour and I had been near the top of the list. There were over five hundred players and the top eighty were paid.

I was dealt a pair of kings so I raised it to make the callers call by putting an extra two times what the blinds were. Everyone folded apart from the big blind. He called.

The flop had two clubs but the cards were looking good. In layman's terms - no aces!

I made a small bet - he called.

The turn card came out and it didn't help either of us (assuming he was holding an ace). So I repeated the process.

I made another bet - he called.

The river was a king of clubs. I had made trips but I had a feeling my rival may have hit a flukey flush.

He checked. I sat there for a second and thought to myself 'he would have made a bet if he had hit a flush.' So I put three thousand chips down. Enough to knock him out and give me a good position on the players list.

He called and turned over a four and a six of clubs. His flush won.

I was appalled. Why the hell would he have called my initial raise when he had two small cards that were suited? In hindsight I should have made better bets on the turn and post-flop. Maybe he wouldn't have chased the flush.

I couldn't let up. though. I had to feed the pot because I was winning. Until the end.

The Media Frenzy pt.3

This is the third part of my look at the the way certain media channels and shows have covered the Benoit tragedy.

The cast of current and former performers appearing on these broadcasts have ranged from the Marc Mero's who have made possibly the most logical sense in the changes that need to be made in the industry all the way to Lanny Poffo whose appearances have been unique to say the least.

Marc Mero & Steve Blackman argue about the state of wrestling:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQleKcJZNys

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDqfVrQu6DI

Dave 'Fit' Finlay appearing alongside Mero on the Nancy Grace Show. Finlay is there as a representative of the WWE and is totally unprepared in his defence of the Wellness Policy within the company:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83u0PULb2C4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wvot5PVkVdU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ip2CNMHfxbM

Another WWE wrestler, Ken Kennedy, appears in defence mode as well:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1i6ieKm_SA

Lanny Poffo, Jacques Rougeou and 'Superstar' Billy Graham. Watch out for Lanny's weird statement at the end:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GD7YzSiAk18

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOSrL9VuJlo

Lanny Poffo and Debra Marshall:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yqPxXaGE4Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3U9bE0jwSg0

Happy B'day

Happy Birthday Julie xx

Signed & Sealed

I wasn't going to draw attention to it until it happened. I doubted it would. But he signed.

This is probably Cardiff City's biggest signing in history. I have my reservations, though.

It seems a lot of people are forgetting the club just sold a young talent in Michael Chopra and instead they bring in a player who is in the twilight of his career despite his protests that he believes he has a lot of years left in him.

I hope he is right.

Robbie Fowler has signed. Will he deliver?

Gone To The Dogs

My prediction for the winner at next year's NFL Super Bowl was going to be the Atlanta Falcons.

'Was' now being the operative word.

The reason why I picked the Falcons to become champions was a weird one to say the least. I have had two different dreams since the close of last season where I have been wearing Atlanta Falcon jerseys and Nike trainers!

Why would I turn on the Colts? The Atlanta thing must be sign yeah?

Sure - I know it's a mug punters way of predicting an outcome of a sporting event but at 40/1 I thought it was worth a small flutter.

I am glad I didn't place the bet now.

Last week the team's number one quarterback, Michael Vick, was indicted on charges of running illegal dog fighting clubs.

If found guilty the player can face up to six years in prison.

There is more than one player in a team but I am assuming that a lot of the team's plays were based around the speed of Vick and if the NFL decides to suspend the player then the team will have to go with Plan B. Whatever that is.

My Plan B is to go with my heart. Go Colts!

Bobby or John?

The recent episode of WWE Raw had segments with interviews featuring WWE talent answering the question on who will win the WWE title match tonight at the Great American Bash.

The bout in question is John Cena defending his title against the number one challenger, Bobby Lashley.

The main consensus amongst those asked was that Cena would be victorious. I tend to agree.

This way of building up anticipation to the main event was a breath of fresh air. It has similarities to the approach the Ultimate Fighting Championship has started to make in the hype for their pay-per-view shows.

I'm not sure if it will generate a good buy-rate tonight but the idea is a good one and should be used to build up future main events because it adds prestige to the title belts and their challengers.

The Media Frenzy pt.2

A number of days ago I looked at the amount of media interest there was in the Benoit family tragedy. The mainstream media caught on to the story and did great to terrible job in reporting on the subject. The one media genre that has been outstanding in their coverage of these heinous deaths is the wrestling newsletter.

I order the Pro Wrestling Torch which is edited by Wade Keller. The newsletter is nearly twenty years old and I have been reading it on and off since the year 2000. I have been a subscriber non-stop for the last three years, though.

Keller has done a spectacular job on covering this situation. His website has a VIP section for newsletter subscribers. This part of the site offers audio updates and the analysis has been continuous throughout the aftermath.

The most recent issue of the Torch printed newsletter has been a double issue looking at the number of angles that have stemmed from that horrific weekend. I think any fan of the business with a thirst for historic significance should seek out this issue. It will play an important part of looking back in years to come.

Dave Meltzer is the number one journalist in wrestling. I used to subscribe to his publication, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter between 1998 and 2003. It has been called the 'bible of professional wrestling'.

I knew Meltzer's writing would be great at this time so decided to re-subscribe. I was not wrong.

The Observer - as with the Torch - has done an outstanding job of trying to work out the answers to a question that will never be answered. It has covered every aspect of the case and in this week's issue the writer has a hard hitting piece.

Dave looks at the list of wrestlers who have died at an early age and are linked to the drug and steroid culture that is associated with professional wrestling. His macabre shopping list of deceased wrestlers and the reason behind their passing is something that the mainstream media should look in to have a further understanding of this scary trend.

Ironically, the Meltzer list was deemed out of date within days.

John Kronus - a star of ECW during the mid to late 1990's - was found dead in his girlfriend's apartment on Thursday morning.

Add another name to the list.

Poker & Weather

When it pours, I reign.

The Call

I was woken up from a snooze yesterday afternoon by a call from Betfair. They asked me a series of questions about my betting and poker and then made me an offer I couldn't refuse.

They opened up the survey by asking me why I hadn't been using their site for a while. I told the girl at the other end that it was because I was betting at another place where I could do combination bets.

She asked if I intended to return and I told her 'one day'.

Then our conversation turned to poker. She asked me what my favourite kind of games were and I told her it was tournaments and she wondered why I didn't like playing in their freerolls.

'Because there are too many nutters on there,' was my response.

I explained that there were far too many players going all-in on every hand. Her response was in the positive asking if they were constantly doing that couldn't I have capitalised on their poor play by beating them when I went up against them. She had a good point but my response was better.

'Not with your cards'.

She then informed me that the company was the main sponsor of the World Series of Poker Europe and that they were running satellites to the event in London. She asked if I was interested.

Thinking I was going to be offered a place for participating in the survey I said I was. Then she told me one of the routes I could take was to try and qualify for the super satellite by taking part in their daily freerolls at 8pm.

'I am playing in tonight's one. Maybe we will see each other at the tables.' She suggested. I thought I had nothing to lose so agreed that I would also play in the evening's game.

We exchanged usernames and ended the call.

Three hours later our game started with over a thousand players. I ended up finishing in the mid 400's and she finished two places above me!

One of her selling points to me for entering the tourney was that it wasn't going to be full. And it wasn't.

But they were still a thousand nutters going all-in all the time. That's not poker.

Is it?

The Benoit Results

The Benoit family's toxicology results were released at a press conference last night.

It appears as all members of the family had traces of Xanex - an anti-anxiety drug - in their systems.

It's kind of a messed up way of thinking but I am somehow glad that Daniel Benoit was too sedated to realise what his father was doing to him. I could never justify what Benoit did to his family but at least in his warped up mind he saw the need to make his son unaware of what was happening before he put the lad in a cross-face hold.

At least we can imagine that Daniel's last vision was of the wrestler that was hung up on posters on the wall rather than that of the monster.

The Final Nine

It has gone down to the last nine players in the Main Event of this year's World Series of Poker.

The names are unfamiliar to me. They are - Philip Hilm, Tuan Lam, John Kalmar, Raymond Rahme, Lee Watkinson, Lee Childs, Hevad Khan, Jerry Yang and Alex Kravchenko.

It sounds like a full male list.

I had placed a bet late last year that the winner of the 2007 Main Event would be a female. The tournament has never been won by a woman and I think that sooner or later the event will be won by a person from the opposite sex.

There are a lot of great female players out there - I just cannot understand why they have yet to get to the WSOP bracelet in the main event.

Maybe next year.

Two In A Row

I have had two successive money finishes in $5 multi-table tournaments.

I finished in twenty-third place in a field of five hundred and fifty-six in last night's game on Blue Square Poker.

I thought I would try my hand in a similar tournament this evening and I did even better - I made it to the final table.

I ended up finishing in seventh place and secured a $75 prize for the performance.

UnPRINCEdented

I am sitting here listening to Prince's new album. It is going to be a historic album for a number of reasons.

The artist formerly known as the Artist Formerly Known As Prince has released the album free to readers of the Mail on Sunday newspaper. It's the first time that something like this has happened and is a clever - but curious - way of promoting.

I don't understand where the gimmick works, though. People are going to buy the paper, get a free CD and then what?

Do the companies involved think that it will make people want to go out and buy the original copy? Will it increase sales for Prince's concerts at the former Millennium Dome?

I doubt it. The public won't buy another CD when they already have it and the concerts are already on the verge of selling out if they aren't already.

I have already had a glance at Ebay and the business-minded have already started putting the item on sale in order to sell to foreign countries that have yet to have the CD on the shelves.

What ever the reason was - I welcome it and hope that other artists will follow suit.

Having A Wii

I finally splashed out on one.

Yes - I have bought the new Nintendo console.

Family and friends shouldn't really be surprised. I have bought a new Nintendo every time they have released one.

In 1992 I bought a Super NES after spending the early part of my life playing on either an Atari or my Commodore 64. One of the things I bought with my first wage packet in 1997 was a Nintendo 64. Five years later, I spent my birthday money on a Nintendo Game Cube.

And then I decided to end it there.

Or so I thought.

In the late part of last year I started watching the adverts for the new machine and was interested in it. It was taking gameplay into a new direction and I wanted to be a part of it.

It was a bit of a wait, though. The shops have been sold out for ages and I gave up wanting one. I had been oohing and aahing about buying one for the last month or so but felt that yesterday was the day.

I'm not sure how long the phase will last. It didn't take long for me to get bored with the Game Cube. I have a six year old nephew this time, though. I am sure that will prolong the enjoyment. It's for him as well... That's my story anyway.

61 Candles

Happy Birthday to my father who turned sixty-one today!

He is the man!

Sky High & Sky Low

I took part in Sky Poker's Open tournament last night and - despite a good series of play - I failed to make it to a payout place.

There were six hundred players and in the early stages of the tournament I hit a pair of kings and knocked two men out.

That hand made me ascend to second place in the rankings. It was all down from there, though.

I made it to the first break and was still in with a chance of securing a return for my buy-in. The top seventy were to be paid and I was in the top to mid part of the payout structure.

It all fell apart at the ninety minute stage when I ended up in a showdown with the chip leader at my table.

I had a pair of jacks - he had kings. And that's all she wrote.

Still, I played well and the luck just ran out for me near the end.

I finished in one hundred and seventeenth place so I was a little under fifty positions short of making a profit. The good part of it is there were four hundred and eighty three players more worse-off than me.

Happy Birthday (In Proper English)

Tee,

I haven't seen you for months but thought I would send you this picture - I hope you like the coloUr (not color).

You are still one of my favoUrite people (but you'll never be a favorite).

Happy Birthday xx

The Only Way Is Down

I keep meaning to play in the Freeze-out Frenzy game on Coral Poker at nine each evening but when the time has come to register I have decided to wait another night.

That process is repeated the following night. And it may even be tonight as well.

I last played poker on Saturday night when I finished in the money on the APAT Australian Open. I know that the great result will not be topped in the next game or two.

Or three.

I shouldn't have the defeated attitude before I play. That's why I have declined the opportunity to buy-in for any games since the weekend.

I know I will be back soon enough and maybe the time away will make me play better than I did on Saturday. I doubt I will be able to, though.

The Media Frenzy pt.1

I have been captivated by the amount of media interest in the Benoit deaths. It seems that all the news channels in the United States are bringing on guest upon guest to talk about the tragedies.

There is a problem with their angle, though.

The majority of these news reports are basing the murders and suicide as being an act of 'roid rage'. Sure, it is a possibility that the usage of steroids may have been a contributing factor in the mental balance of Chris Benoit and the house did have an endless supply of the drug but there really is more to it than what the media wants it to be.

You see - the police and people investigating the crime have ruled out 'roid rage'. The deaths took place over the span of thirty or more hours. Rage attributed by steroid use is a short term thing and there is absolutely no chance it would have lasted the whole weekend the terrible acts were committed.

The media wants the 'roid rage' story because it adds more curiosity and makes it soemwhat 'sexy'.

The scary thing about this entire situation is we will never really know what truly happened on that weekend but the stigma of 'roid rage' will always be attributed to it because the media has been able to portray it as nothing but a steroid fuelled act.

Kevin Nash appeared on Fox News late last week and was asked about the anger associated with steroid users. When Nash didn't give them the answers they were looking for, the female host shot down his opinion and more or less called him a liar.

Why bring someone on to talk about a subject they know about when you don't want the answer they want?

I will look at more coverage this week. Tonight's episode of Larry King is due to feature John Cena, Bret Hart and Chris Jericho as CNN's main host deals with the coverage.

Kevin Nash on Fox News - http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=A7Nfr3KrMlM

Aussie Rules

I took part in APAT's Online Australian Open last night and made it to the final table.

There were one hundred and forty-five players in the event on PokerStars. It started at 8pm and I didn't finish until four and a half hours later.

I finished in third place securing $345.10 for my effort.

As I sit here typing this I am trying to recall some of the hands that I played and have realised that - including the one that knocked me out - I must have lost only three or four of the hands I played. All the others were winners.

Hand of the night was when I was dealt a pair of sixes. I was in early position and made a small raise. I had one caller and a re-raiser. The person who had made the raise was short on chips so I thought I would move all-in.

I made my move and the two other players called.

The player who had made the re-raise had a pair of aces. Our rival in the hand had something that didn't concern me (ie I forgot what it was now!!!).

The flop came out as two two's and another high card. The re-raiser was still in the lead.

The turn card was a six giving me a full house. The hand was mine unless another ace came out on the river.

It didn't.

That hand moved me into the front of the tournament. I remained in first place for most of the latter stages of the game.

It started falling apart when there were five of us left. The antes and blinds were eating at my chip stack and my position started to drop.

The only fault I can find in last night's game was not winning it.

All The Sevens

It is 07/07/07 and everyone seems to be celebrating the peculiar date.

There is a concert being held across all seven of the world's continent in order to draw attention to the crisis associated with the climate.

You can watch the whole thing on the MSN website.

There is also a poker tournament being held on Paddy Power Poker tonight that is $77 to enter and the prize-pool is a guaranteed $7,777. And one of the geniuses behind the planning of such a tournament has set the start time as 7:07pm.

I am going to give it amiss because - knowing my current luck - I will finish in 77th place out of 777 runners!

Worn Out

I am totally exhausted and lost for words.

I cannot think of anyting to type so this will be one of my posts just for the sake of keeping my stretch going.

A2

I seem to be getting dealt A2 quite a lot.

I noticed it today when I was playing in a few sit-n-go's. I must have seen the cards at least five times.

It's a shame I didn't see a pair of aces or kings. I would have had a lot more to write about then.

O.G. Is Unmasked

The Dr. Astin story has taken a number of twists over the last few days.

There was a report that listed two names that the doctor prescribed high quantities of steroids and painkillers to. The names were given as initials - M.J. and O.G.

The M.J. is unknown at the moment but there has been a lot of talk across the Internet on the wrestler with the initials O.G.

Oscar Gutierrez.

The name may not mean anything to many fans unless you delve further and realise that this is the name of the masked Mexican wrestler, Rey Mysterio.

It all becomes clear now, doesn't it? Mysterio was close with Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit. It is plausible that Benoit and Mysterio could share the same doctor.

Mysterio was meant to be returning to the WWE after being off our screens since late last year. He was pencilled in to return at the Great American Bash in the bottom end of July but it now looks doubtful as I am sure the company will hold off bringing him back until the coast is clear.

Just My Four King Luck

I was playing a cash game on Saturday afternoon and won with one of the best hands I have ever had.

I was dealt a king and a six on the big blind and there were a few callers - I can't remember how many. All I had to do was check it, so I did.

The flop came out as king, king, five so I had made three-of-a-kind. We all checked the hand down.

The turn came out as another king. I was unbeatable already.

One person made a bet, everyone else - apart from myself - folded.

I made a call.

The river was another five making a full house on the board. I then made a bet at the pot hoping I would get at least a call. My opponent raised my bet and I sat there for a second with an evil grin on my face. He had obviously thought I was attempting to bluff him and take the pot.

He thought the community full house was enough to share the pot. But it wasn't.

I moved all my chips in and he called me.

I left the table immediately after winning the hand. I wasn't going to do any better.

Pandora's Box Of 'Roids

Dr. Phil Astin was charged today for improperly prescribing painkillers and steroids over the time of April 2004 and September 2005.

Astin was the family doctor of the Benoits.

This arrest and possible conviction is similar to that of Dr George T. Zahorian who was busted in 1991 for illegal distribution of steroids to professional wrestling. The FBI ended up indicting Vince McMahon on similar charges but he was found 'not guilty' in 1994.

This current situation may or may not bring McMahon to as much trouble as the early 1990's but it surely does prove that the WWE's Wellness Policy is nothing but a sham that can be beaten.

And that's a cause for concern.

The Week That Was

This was one of the worst weeks I have experienced as a wrestling fan. I was thinking that all the media interest in these devastating deaths would have calmed a bit by now but they haven't.

And that is a good thing.

It was a long time coming. The mainstream had little or no interest when these stars were dropping dead at young ages. It took the murders of two innocent victims of the wrestling business for people to wake up and recognise there is something wrong.

I am not writing that steroids were or weren't involved with these deaths. I can see both sides in regards to the argument that this was an example of 'roid rage'.

What I can blame on this situation is the wrestling world itself.

These stars are stuck in a fantasy world where they have a hard time deciphering real from fake. It's quite scary really.

To survive in this business a lot of the stars have resorted to drugs whether they are prescribed or recreational. Mostly this medication is used to survive the road. They need uppers to wake up in the morning and downers to sleep at night. In some cases the use

It just becomes a vicious cycle and the bodies become hooked on the life they are living.

They are still awaiting news on what was in Benoit's body at the time of his death. These reports will surely be a way towards the question of why a seemingly sane individual would kill his wife and son over the course of two days.

The report may or may not shed light on why he did this. I personally find it hard how anyone can even find sense in these killings. All I do know is that the business should be blamed because it must have affected his mind in some way.

I know I've written about nothing but this situation for the last week but this really is the only thing I think should be given attention to due to the number of different angles and stories coming out in regards to this situation.